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 Dance dramas with contemporary perspective- Vijay Shankere-mail: vijaydance@gmail.com August 18, 2025 The New Bombay Ayyappa Mission, Vashi, presented two dance dramas portraying the goddess by Mohiniattam dancer Dr Ayswaria Wariar and her talented team of dancers on 22nd June at the popular Vishnudas Bhave auditorium in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. The two diverse and powerful dance productions in "The Goddess - Within and Beyond" are Tripoothu, the sacred feminine awakening and the 'Bherkar Bherkar Jogmaya', conceptualized and choreographed by Dr Ayswaria Wariar. These two dance productions, inspired by two different regions of south and Gujarat, are a beautiful amalgamation of the visual performing arts all brought to life by twenty highly trained dancers of Nrityodaya School of Classical Dances (Vadodara and Vashi).   Tripoothu Tripoothu represents the menstruation of the goddess Parvathi, which is celebrated with a ritual in which the goddess is taken special care with bath, prayers and offerings to please the goddess. During this period of biological change, a rare aspect which is portrayed with a contemporary perspective is the message that women need to be taken special care of, particularly during their menstrual cycle period and not ostracised by the society, which used to happen earlier, particularly in villages. This festival is exclusively celebrated at the Kamakya Temple in Assam and the Chengannur Mahadevar Temple in Kerala. The Chengannur Mahadevar Temple is very close to the Pamba river. The town is considered one of the 32 Namboodiri towns in Kerala and Mahadeva Shiva is the presiding deity of the town. The Lord in the form of Lingam faces east, while the temple of the goddess which is behind, faces the west. The dance drama portrays the emotional state of the goddess during the rituals and the festivities, performed in the Mohiniattam style.  Bherkar Bherkar Jogmaya 'Bherkar Bherkar Jogmaya' dance drama is presented in the folk and classical style in praise of the goddess Jogmaya and her strong resemblance to the women of the Charan community of Kutch, Gujarat. The scene commences with vachika or words of the Charan in Charani with the Shiva Parvati Samvaad on mount Kailash regarding her appearance on earth as an ordinary being. Parvati is born in the tribal Charan family who are basically warriors, hence both boys and girls are trained in martial arts to participate in the wars. After participating in the war, the goddess as an ordinary woman seeks revenge against her opponents as she has lost her husband and son.  Bherkar Bherkar Jogmaya While 'Tripoothu' used Mohiniattam, Kathakali and Kaikottikali, 'Bherkar Bherkar Jogmaya' portrayed Bharatanatyam, Garba, Raas, Heech dance style with the pre-dominance of the Charani folk music based on Charani literature. With Ayswaria as the lead dancer as the goddess, Shiva in 'Tripoothu' was played by Kathakali actor Renjish Nair and in 'Jogmaya,' Shiva was played by Kainaz Pardiwala. The Sutradhar was Urmit Shah, Agatsya Muni was played by Manimaran Ilangovan. Women devotees were played by Manijira P, Kushika Garg, Arunima Nair, Deepa and Neha Mani, Maga Theertha and Prisha. It was quite a spectacle to watch all the dancers, performing different dances with lot of enthusiasm and sincerity. The script was written by Aravind Shankaradhyanam, vocal by N.N. Sivaprasad, Kalamkari drapes by Dhanture and lights by Prayag Barcha. Dr. Ayswaria says, "This theme is normally not presented on the stage but it is very relevant to the contemporary society. As the woman forms an integral part of the family, her happiness and well-being is most important".  Vijay Shankar is a Kuchipudi and Kathakali exponent, teacher, bilingual journalist, arts critic and actor. |
